Community Notes – Newton PTO Councilhttps://newtonptocouncil.org
The Newton PTO Council is an umbrella organization composed of all 21 PTOs in Newton, MA. Its members are the current and past presidents of each PTO. The Council’s ultimate purpose is to support all Newton parents in the quest for the highest quality of education in the city.Sun, 18 Nov 2018 16:31:25 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.8Drop off a dish to helphttps://newtonptocouncil.org/2018/11/18/drop-off-a-dish-to-help/
Sun, 18 Nov 2018 16:24:54 +0000http://newtonptocouncil.org/?p=10845Continue reading →]]>Drop off a dish to help feed the Boston homeless on Thanksgiving.

Gobble Gobble Give is a national effort of volunteers who prepare and assemble individual containers of Thanksgiving meals to deliver to homeless people in 16 major cities throughout the country.

Boston is just starting out, and they were able to deliver 100 meals last year. This year their goal is 500. Let’s help them exceed their goal! You can drop off a warm dish on Thanksgiving morning or stay and help! If you would like to help but will not be around on Thursday, please email wrwoodruff@yahoo.com to arrange to drop off a donation on Tuesday or Wednesday (something like cookies, pumpkin bread, corn muffins, pie as long as it does not need to be refrigerated).

Is your teen participating in choir or theater? Is she interested strengthening her voice and performance skills? With a focus on healthy singing and versatility, lessons with Jacqueline Novikov improve pitch, range, coordination and confidence.

Sunday afternoon lesson availability, two performances per semester, and flexible scheduling for busy students and families. Contact Jacqueline Novikov at jn@forma-music.com and learn more at jacquelinenovikov.com.

]]>Writing Tutor Availablehttps://newtonptocouncil.org/2018/11/18/writing-tutor-available-9/
Sun, 18 Nov 2018 16:04:35 +0000http://newtonptocouncil.org/?p=10839Continue reading →]]>Does your student become frustrated or intimidated by writing assignments? Jane Hirschhorn can help them become a more successful writer. In her more than 25 years of tutoring experience, Jane has worked with students of differing abilities from middle school through graduate school. Jane tailors her approach to make the best use of each student’s strengths to help them move through the writing process with calm and confidence. Jane is also available for help with college essays.

]]>There is still time to sign up for Newton Inspireshttps://newtonptocouncil.org/2018/11/11/there-is-still-time-to-sign-up-for-newton-inspires/
Sun, 11 Nov 2018 18:56:26 +0000http://newtonptocouncil.org/?p=10836
]]>Food Service surveyhttps://newtonptocouncil.org/2018/11/11/food-service-survey/
Sun, 11 Nov 2018 16:48:07 +0000http://newtonptocouncil.org/?p=10831Continue reading →]]>We need your help to improve our food service! Please fill out the appropriate survey below and tell us what is working and what could be better. Thank you from the Newton Public Schools Food Service.

]]>Holiday Gift Drivehttps://newtonptocouncil.org/2018/11/11/holiday-gift-drive/
Sun, 11 Nov 2018 15:59:43 +0000http://newtonptocouncil.org/?p=10827Continue reading →]]>The City of Newton Health and Human Services Dept. and The Village Bank are teaming up again for the annual Holiday Gift Drive. Please help by donating gifts for children ages newborn to 10:

New, unwrapped toys

Gift cards from local Newton merchants

Donations will be accepted from November 12th – December 10th. Your gift will benefit deserving Newton families this holiday season. You can drop off donations at the following Village Bank locations:

]]>We Still Live Here: Learning about the history and present-day experience of the Wampanoag Nationhttps://newtonptocouncil.org/2018/11/11/we-still-live-here-learning-about-the-history-and-present-day-experience-of-the-wampanoag-nation/
Sun, 11 Nov 2018 15:52:28 +0000http://newtonptocouncil.org/?p=10825Continue reading →]]>“We Still Live Here: Learning about the history and present-day experience of the Wampanoag Nation” is an opportunity to gain knowledge as well as guidance about talking with your children about how Native Americans in the New England region have been treated and how they are reclaiming their language today. A tribe member will join to answer questions. Children 8 and up are welcome to attend!

]]>5th annual Newton Turkey Trothttps://newtonptocouncil.org/2018/11/11/5th-annual-newton-turkey-trot/
Sun, 11 Nov 2018 15:46:17 +0000http://newtonptocouncil.org/?p=10823Continue reading →]]>Online registration for the 5th annual Newton Turkey Trot closes on November 12th! This event kicks off on November 17th (the Saturday before Thanksgiving) with a 1 mile kids’ fun run at 8:30 am followed by the 5K race at 9:00 am. For information and to register, visit www.newtonturkeytrot.org

Not a runner? Join the fun as a volunteer! Details are in the volunteer section of the website. All proceeds from the race go to the Newton Food Pantry.

]]>2nd Annual Turkey Bowlhttps://newtonptocouncil.org/2018/11/11/2nd-annual-turkey-bowl/
Sun, 11 Nov 2018 15:42:59 +0000http://newtonptocouncil.org/?p=10819Continue reading →]]>The 2nd Annual Turkey Bowl will take place on November 17th! All teams are guaranteed at least 3 games of play. The cost for registration is only $40 per free agent, or $300 per team. Click here for the team registration page.

All players are placed into divisions by age groupings (6U, 8U, 10U, 12U, and 15U). Teams with free agents are also balanced according to age and year of experience. Each division has playoffs and a Turkey Bowl Champion with individual medals for each player from the winning team. All games are less than 1 hour. More information can be found on the website and on the attached flyer.

November 17, 8:00 am – 8:00 pm
Daly Field

NFL Flag is the premier youth flag football league for both boys and girls. The program provides young players a fun and exciting opportunity to engage in non-contact action while learning lessons in teamwork. It’s designed to educate young people about football, while emphasizing participation and sportsmanship. Players learn skills and lessons that help them succeed both on and off the field.

Dr. Kevin Hill is an addiction psychiatrist, cannabis researcher and author at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital. Dr. Nicole Danforth is a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Newton Wellesley Hospital. They’ll be joined by Elizabeth Booma, MD, to answer questions from the audience. Whether you’re an adult considering giving legal marijuana a try, a parent worried about preventing teen use, or just plain curious, this is the event for you! It’s free and open to the public.

]]>Your help is neededhttps://newtonptocouncil.org/2018/11/11/your-help-needed/
Sun, 11 Nov 2018 15:28:06 +0000http://newtonptocouncil.org/?p=10815Continue reading →]]>Centre Street Food Pantry is looking for volunteers to help staff the pantry on Tuesdays and the first Saturday of each month. Volunteer shifts are available in two hour increments and sign up is flexible. Tasks include stocking shelves, helping clients shop, clean up and more.

]]>Ice skating lessonhttps://newtonptocouncil.org/2018/11/11/ice-skating-lesson/
Sun, 11 Nov 2018 15:11:02 +0000http://newtonptocouncil.org/?p=10810Continue reading →]]>Winter is coming and Newton’s Parks & Recreation Department has released a schedule of its always popular ice skating classes. Children ages 4 – 18 learn to skate or improve their skills in small, supportive classes based on age and ability. Classes are held at several local rinks, with many options of days and times. For more information, please call 617-796-1500.

]]>All Newton Music Schoolhttps://newtonptocouncil.org/2018/11/11/all-newton-music-school/
Sun, 11 Nov 2018 14:19:28 +0000http://newtonptocouncil.org/?p=10808Continue reading →]]>Do you know… that Newton is home to one of the oldest non-profit Community Music Schools in the nation? Enroll yourself, or your child, at any time during the year at All Newton Music School. Experience the synergy of taking private lessons at All Newton Music School along with 800 of your friends and neighbors.

They offer lessons in over twenty instruments doing their best to be flexible and find times that work with your busy schedule:

* Piano slots available on Friday and throughout the week
** Violin slots available on Tuesday from 1:00 to 7:00 PM
*** Oboe slots available on Monday Afternoons
**** Percussion slots available on Tuesday and Wednesdays

The faculty has degrees from Juilliard, New England Conservatory, The Boston Conservatory, Berklee College of Music and more! Request lessons for you or your child in under 60 seconds online: https://www.allnewtonmusicschool.com/inquiry or by phone 617- 527-4553.

Other programs include:

FREE Early Childhood Drop-In Classes each week – Spend Thursday Mornings with your children (ages 0 – 5 years) and enjoy instructor and entertainer Ken DoRosario! Musical Mornings combines rhythm instrument play and exploration to live music and seasonal songs, musical movement, story, and active listening. No Charge but must RSVP on website as space is limited.

Thursdays, 11:00 – 11:45 am

Rock Bands for Grades 4th and up! Performing with others is an essential element to any musical education. With a professional coach, students (ages 9 and up) will learn performance skills, improvisation, communication as a group, as well as practice techniques. All bands will participate in live performances throughout the year, including one in a professional venue.

]]>Winter is Coming!https://newtonptocouncil.org/2018/11/11/winter-is-coming/
Sun, 11 Nov 2018 14:11:13 +0000http://newtonptocouncil.org/?p=10806Continue reading →]]>Winter is Coming! Playing an instrument is a great indoor activity during the cold months.
The Conservatory at Highlands is here to help! With music lessons you can stay motivated with fun songs and have fun making great music.

The teachers are experienced, patient, kind and supportive and they can help musicians of any age reach their goals. Try learning an instrument along with your child in parent/student lessons. It is an amazing and educational activity for the family.
Book time in our state-of-the-art recording studio for audition tapes or other projects!

The Conservatory offers music lessons on almost all instruments, including: piano, voice, violin, viola, cello, guitar, drums, bass, saxophone, flute, clarinet, trombone, baritone, oboe, ukulele, and even harmonica! Sign up for rock bands, which meet weekly; or record in our state-of-the-art recording studio with audio production lessons and more!

The Conservatory at Highlands is locally owned and operated and offers a 21st-century music education that is equally inclusive and challenging taught by the best musicians in Boston. The Conservatory is your community music school, where we can all learn and develop the craft of music together. Stop in and check out their unique space at 51 Winchester Street, Newton Highlands.

]]>Tutor availablehttps://newtonptocouncil.org/2018/11/11/tutor-available-18/
Sun, 11 Nov 2018 14:05:54 +0000http://newtonptocouncil.org/?p=10803Continue reading →]]>Former Brookline and Concord teacher with 25 years experience (grades 1-12,) as a classroom teacher, middle and high school English teacher, Reading Specialist, and executive functioning specialist is available to tutor students in elementary, middle and high school in academic subjects, reading, writing, study and organizational skills.

As the architect of one of the first racially integrated rock bands (Booker T. and the M.G.’s), Booker T. Jones set the cast for modern soul music. He created classic hits like “Green Onions,” and backed artists ranging from Otis Redding to Willie Nelson. Join an unforgettable concert featuring the legendary Jones, a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award winner, and his band performing “Songs and Stories from the Birth of Soul.”

Purchase tickets for individual seats and sponsorships through www.newtonma.gov/BookerT. For more information please call 617-796-1450.

November 17th, 7:30 pm
Newton North High School, 457 Walnut Street

MUSEUM STORE SUNDAY / MEET THE MAKERS

Get a head start on your holiday shopping when the shops at the Jackson Homestead and the Durant-Kenrick House offer a 25 percent discount on museum store merchandise. Also Meet the Makers! Artists from Newton will show and sell their work from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm (1:00 – 3:00 pm authors including Barbara Berenson, Ken Bresler, Beryl Gilfix and Lenna Kutner will be stationed in each museum and you can purchase directly from them.

The shop selection includes posters and maps of Newton, Historic Newton’s custom-made ginger-pear jam, books about the Underground Railroad and abolition, interactive toys, and hand-made candles. Each purchase supports the mission and programs of Historic Newton. Museum Store Sunday takes place at 700 museum stores around the world.

Come learn how Native people in Massachusetts grew their food. We will read a tale about the Three Sisters, the story behind growing corn, beans, and squash together. Preschoolers and their caregivers will have the chance to interact with our own three sisters crops and make a corn husk doll. Admission is Free. For information, call 617-641-9142

]]>Your help is needed to feed peoplehttps://newtonptocouncil.org/2018/11/03/your-help-is-needed-to-feed-people/
Sat, 03 Nov 2018 14:40:44 +0000http://newtonptocouncil.org/?p=10783Continue reading →]]>Centre Street Food Pantry is looking for volunteers to help staff the pantry on Tuesdays and the first Saturday of the month. Volunteer shifts are available in two hour increments and sign up is flexible.

Tasks include stocking shelves, helping clients shop, clean up and more. For more information, please visit the Get Involved tab on the website https://www.centrestfoodpantry.org/get-involved-2. Volunteers must be 16 and older to volunteer without an adult and 12 is the minimum age with an adult.

]]>Blood Drive to Benefit the Jimmy Fund & Dana-Farberhttps://newtonptocouncil.org/2018/11/03/blood-drive-to-benefit-the-jimmy-fund-dana-farber/
Sat, 03 Nov 2018 14:38:01 +0000http://newtonptocouncil.org/?p=10781Continue reading →]]>Boy Scout Troop 205 will be hosting a blood drive as a part of an Eagle Scout project for one of the scouts. The project will help benefit Kraft Blood Donor Services and patients at Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund. The scout organizing the drive was diagnosed with leukemia when he was one year old and is now over 10 years cancer-free and in a position to give back to the people who gave so much to him.

To donate (donors must be 17 years or older), you can simply come to the MacKenzie Center between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm, but if you prefer to schedule an appointment in advance, please use this link tinyurl.com/BishopMac2018. Donors will receive a Kraft Family Blood Donor Center blanket!

The league welcomes players of all skill levels and will provide your daughter with an experience that fosters positive self-esteem, team spirit, and individual growth through personal achievement and as a team member. Players have fun, make new friends, and enjoy a healthy outdoor activity.

Since 1999, Newton Girls Lacrosse (NGL) has been dedicated to providing Newton girls and their families a community based developmental lacrosse program.

NGL is the only Newton girls lacrosse program with opportunities for all Newton girls in grades 1-8 to play lacrosse. They encourage girls at all ages, regardless of experience, to join the program and learn lacrosse while meeting new friends, being active and competing.

The program delivers a fun, safe and inclusive youth sport environment that compliments the core values our families observe at home, at school, in the community and on the field.

TEAMS
Last year the program was made up of 200 families with 250 girls rostered. The program offered 11 travel teams and 2 select teams in the Founders Girls Lacrosse League.

Practices and Games
All grade levels practice at Weeks Field in Newton Center on Mondays and Wednesdays starting in late March and ending in June. In addition, the program also uses both outdoor and indoor turf when the spring weather creates challenges.

Games are played on Sundays for all grade levels and Friday nights for the 5/6 and 7/8 select teams.

NGL – Come Play!

]]>Math Festival and Open Househttps://newtonptocouncil.org/2018/11/03/math-festival-and-open-house/
Sat, 03 Nov 2018 14:02:08 +0000http://newtonptocouncil.org/?p=10774Continue reading →]]>Come and learn more about Studio of Engaging Math’s programs. Play games, do STEM activities, solve puzzles, and win prizes! Check out robotics, coding, and chess classes as well. See https://www.facebook.com/events/333915890498710/

Studio of Engaging Math is a pre-K-8 after-school math program. Their mission is to cultivate students’ appreciation of mathematics by fostering intellectual curiosity, critical and logical thinking, spatial reasoning and problem-solving skills to build student confidence and self-esteem. They emphasize creativity, original thinking and reasoning over memorization. A small group setting with curriculum that is tailored for students of various levels creates positive attitude about math and redefines math learning experience.

]]>Newton Community Preservation Committee meeting November 13thhttps://newtonptocouncil.org/2018/11/03/newton-community-preservation-committee-meeting-november-13th/
Sat, 03 Nov 2018 13:53:12 +0000http://newtonptocouncil.org/?p=10772Continue reading →]]>The Community Preservation Committee’s agenda includes discussions of a pre-proposal for supplemental funding of the Allen House historic rehabilitation project in West Newton; a partial return of unspent funds and planning a change of purpose for the Homebuyer Assistance program; and potential future proposals for listing in the Community Preservation Plan.

]]>Newton Power Choicehttps://newtonptocouncil.org/2018/11/03/newton-power-choice/
Sat, 03 Nov 2018 13:50:10 +0000http://newtonptocouncil.org/?p=10787Continue reading →]]>What is Newton Power Choice and how can you impact the City’s decisions about your energy sources? Come learn with LWVN!

The City of Newton is developing a new electricity program, called Newton Power Choice. It will increase the amount of renewable energy in your electricity supply. How much renewable energy do you think the City should include in its energy contracts? And how much would you be willing to pay for cleaner energy?

Join members of the League of Women Voters of Newton (LWVN) to hear about this electricity aggregation program and the impact it will have on our community’s efforts to address climate change. RSVPs to info@lwvnewton.org are appreciated!

]]>Bringing families together at the Newton Family Conferencehttps://newtonptocouncil.org/2018/11/03/bringing-families-together-at-the-newton-family-conference/
Sat, 03 Nov 2018 13:49:11 +0000http://newtonptocouncil.org/?p=10770Continue reading →]]>The 2018 Newton Family Conference to be held on Saturday, December 1st, 1:00 – 4:00 pm at Newton North High School. The goal of the conference is to build relationships between families of color and white families within the district, advance dialogue around issues of race, culture, and identity and create opportunities for families within NPS to connect.

Participants will attend workshops on “Courageous Conversations About Race” facilitated by NPS trained facilitators. These sessions will be similar to the workshops in which Newton faculty and staff are participating.

The Family Conference is one way in which the Newton Public School District is seeking to create culturally responsive school communities with equity and excellence for all.

]]>Help neededhttps://newtonptocouncil.org/2018/11/03/help-needed/
Sat, 03 Nov 2018 13:37:06 +0000http://newtonptocouncil.org/?p=10766Continue reading →]]>Family needs a “big sister” to supervise and drive (car will be provided if you have a license and insurance) their 12 year old daughter 3 days a week. Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:30 or 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm and Tuesdays at 2:30 pm for just a drive to an activity. They’ll be as flexible as possible for the right candidate.

If interested in learning more, please text Pinar at 617-957-7123.

]]>Girls lacrossehttps://newtonptocouncil.org/2018/11/03/girls-lacrosse/
Sat, 03 Nov 2018 12:03:06 +0000http://newtonptocouncil.org/?p=10734Girls lacrosse opportunity in Newton. Girls in grades 5-8 register now! See the Girls Lax Newton flyer for information
]]>Are you a Memorial Spaulding alumni or family?https://newtonptocouncil.org/2018/11/03/are-you-a-memorial-spaulding-alumni-or-family/
Sat, 03 Nov 2018 12:02:18 +0000http://newtonptocouncil.org/?p=10763Please support the 5th Grade Class of 2019 and show your school spirit by purchasing a Memorial Spaulding sweatshirt or water bottle. All orders must be placed by November 9th.